----Ride through the Irish Hills -----
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Where are our HISTORY BUFFS at?? The Irish Hills Towers have been a landmark in the Irish Hills since the early 1920’s!
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The Michigan Observation Company were looking for places with a higher elevation to build 50 foot-high towers to boost tourism, and landed on none other than the Irish Hills! With a rich history, these Towers have plenty of stories to tell.
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Originally, the Michigan Observation Company approached land owner, Edward Kelly to build on his land. When he turned down their offer, adjacent land owner, Thomas Brighton agreed and the first tower began construction.
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Opening day in 1924 of the Irish Hills Observatory brought in hundreds of people to see the beautiful lakes, landscape and fields from the higher vantage point. When seeing the HUGE success of the MOC’s tower, Kelly decided to build his own to compete with the original tower. He built this tower several feet taller. Upon seeing this, the MOC also added to their tower to meet the same height as Kelly’s. These two towers competed as separate entities for quite some time.
๐In the 1950’s, Frank Lamping acquired both towers and then attached them to a gift shop!
๐In the 1970’s, both towers were refurbished and given new platforms, creating the identical look.
๐In the 2000’s, the Irish Hills Towers were closed to the public and facing demolition.
๐In 2007, the Towers were place on the National Register of Historical Places.
๐In the 2010’s, the Irish Hills Historical Society began the process to bring the Towers back up to code.
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These Towers have seen a lot of life, different owners, different looks and brought SO MANY tourists to the area. When driving down US-12 in the Irish Hills, this LANDMARK is hard to miss!
Whether you want to take a cruise on your bike or see the beautiful changing trees along US-12, keep your EYES peeled for the Towers๐!
Irish Hills Towers - 8433 US Highway 12 Onsted, MI 49265